T'Challa
"Brazen power oft succumbs to silence and stealth!" Character Stat Sheet Public Information T'Challa was born the son of King T'Chaka and Queen N'Yami, his birth resulting in the death of his mother, and the enmity of his adopted older brother, Hatut Hunter. After his father's assassination, T'Challa continued his education, eventually gaining a doctorate in physics from Oxford. He has since dedicated his efforts to ensuring that Wakanda is at the forefront of global science and technology. With the blessing of Bast, he has become the Black Panther. Background THE KING IS DEAD... ---- Before the Time of the Ape, the Panther ruled over Wakanda. Wakanda - a nation as powerful as it was mysterious, tucked away in the heart of Africa where none dared to tread, save by the Panther's leave - had thrived under the wisdom of her ruler, protected by his might and by the blessing of the Goddess, Bast, which flowed through the Panther's veins. The Panther had a name. T'Chaka. The Panther also had enemies, none moreso than the Ape - M'Baku - whose savage people had warred against the nation of Wakanda, and not merely for the source of Wakanda's wealth and prosperity: the mineral, vibranium, but also out of the sheer bestial need to conquer and possess. Many were the times that the people of the Ape ventured into the jungles of the Panther - and few there were that ever came forth again. Yet the Ape was persistent. He was driven. As the Wise Ones would say, he was possessed - but not by demons. By greed. And hate. But the Ape... was also cunning. Under flag of truce, the Ape approached the Panther in peace - no weapons, no threats, no lies. In accordance with Wakandan law, he challenged T'Chaka to single combat: for the right of rulership over all of Wakanda, her wealth, and her people. T'Chaka, bound by the laws of his ancestors (and despite knowing full well that M'Baku had some form of plan to betray the Rite of Combat), accepted. The fight was fierce, and deadly - and throughout the course of it, M'Baku revealed his true intentions: He cheated with trickery and poisons, and slew the king of Wakanda in front of his sons: the elder (adopted) Hatut Hunter, and T'Challa - who would have been the heir to the throne, had the Rite of Combat gone differently. M'Baku claimed the throne of Wakanda and began ordering the enslavement of her people before the body of T'Chaka had even begun to cool. In the year 2001, the Time of the Ape had come to Wakanda. T'Challa was forced to flee, aided by a few who gave their lives that he might one day return. A STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND... ---- Little is known of the young man, T'Challa, during the days of suffering that followed. With his father deposed - apparently by fair combat - the Elders of his people were unable to find a means within the law for the heir to retake his throne. M'Baku had been exceedingly clever, setting up his coup over the course of years so that there would be little legal - or military - support for any Panther-loyalists to help any heir return. Of course, M'Baku - known to the Western world as 'Man-Ape' - had not counted upon young T'Challa's escape, and every resource was devoted to finding the lost heir... and destroy him. His efforts, however, were in vain - for T'Challa also was cunning, and learned - having mastered many fields of expertise in his education to rule the Earth's most technologically-advanced nation, as well as the fighting and survival skills needed to thrive in the unforgiving jungles of Africa. And survive he did. He continued his studies despite the fact that his enemies numbered far greater than just the People of the Ape - and they all wanted him captured or killed. His own adopted brother, Hatut Hunter - often just called 'The Hunter' or 'White Wolf' - seized upon this chance to rid himself of the one he blamed for their mother's death: T'Challa. She, N'Yami, had died giving birth to T'Challa - thus ending the blissful relationship Hatut Hunter had enjoyed since he had first been adopted. He pursued the lone T'Challa endlessly, among others who also sought the prince's demise. In the end, the young Panther's journeys in exile took him across the sea to a land vastly different from his own - and yet eerily similar at the same time. America. In the United States of America, T'Challa came as no one. Not a king. Not an exile. Not even a scientist. He set his sights upon the area known as 'Hell's Kitchen', in the city of New York, and purposed to learn more of the 'criminal mind' - partly to survive in the city, and partly to prepare himself for the Westerns that Man-Ape had brought into Wakanda, to plunder her precious resources. T'Challa - calling himself Luke Charles - found it difficult to not intervene wherever and whenever he encountered the strong preying upon the weak: even without the blessing of Bast to aid him (as the Rite of the Panther God had never been performed on the next king of Wakanda). He found himself on the 'radar' of one Matthew Murdock, a lawyer, and his friend and colleague, Franklin "Foggy" Nelson. Something of an understanding was agreed upon between these men, and Nelson helped T'Challa set up a small business - a restaurant aptly named 'Hell's Kitchen'. There, he served the community as a humble restaurateur, all the while learning of the 'dark side' of American culture. For those next few years, Wakanda was truly without a Panther to guide or protect her. Then, the Panther God - Bast - called to T'Challa in a dream, summoning him back to his homeland. LONG LIVE THE KING... ---- Returning to the land of his birth - and birthright - T'Challa was forced to avoid most of his own people. None could know that he had returned - not before the time was right. Like a shadow in the jungle he made his way past the sentries guarding the Wakandan border - both the technological, and the spiritual - and found his way into the fabled ruins of Necropolis - City of Kings. City of the Dead. There, the Panther God - Bast - drew him through perils of which he would never speak to the very throne room of the Goddess herself. There, the avatar of Bast came to life and spoke to the Prince-in-Exile: Wakanda's suffering would no longer go ignored. She would have her Champion again. She would have the Black Panther return to his rightful place as ruler and protector... But he would not do it alone. The final battle was to be T'Challa's, and T'Challa's alone - but to get him there, and to protect his people from further repercussions from the allies of the Man-Ape, he would need help. On his knees before his Goddess, T'Challa swore himself to serve her, and to serve his people - with every ounce of his strength, every thought of his mind, and every beat of his heart. Bast bestowed upon the prince her blessing - as she had done for every Black Panther before him - and T'Challa rose a new man. The Black Panther had been reborn. There was still much to do, and so T'Challa spent the next several months setting events in motion that would lead to another coup - as bloodless as any coup could be. When ready, he returned again to the United States, and made his presence known to the Avengers. And his purpose. Earth's Mightiest Heroes banded together with the Black Panther to free his people from the tyranny of the Ape. Surgical strikes were staged in perfect synchronisation all around the kingdom, as - one by one - the allies of Man-Ape were neutralised. With the Avengers help, in the end, nothing stood between T'Challa and the throne but M'Baku himself - and whatever cunning plans the Ape had in mind to defeat the Panther. Panther and Ape faced each other alone, in a re-enactment of the same Rite of Combat that had cost the Wakandan people their previous Panther in the first place. As before, the Ape attempted to cheat, but this time... the Panther proved the cleverer. In 2006, the Panther returned to Wakanda, and by virtue of the Rite of Combat - and the blessing of Bast which had so obviously been bestowed upon T'Challa (a closely-kept secret, since that blessing generally followed after being crowned) - the young prince became a king. He also became an Avenger. EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES ---- In the years that followed his return to the throne, T'Challa spent much of his time in Wakanda, repairing the damage that M'Baku and his People of the Ape had done to the nation's resources and especially her citizens. When reports of a "Daredevil" began to surface in New York, T'Challa went to investigate on his own, occasionally fighting alongside the other masked vigilante - in his own 'costume'. But mostly, he fought as one of the Avengers. T'Challa attended the wedding of Reed Richards and Susan Storm. When the Phoenix Force took Jean Grey as its host, the Black Panther went to space with his team-mates to do battle with the Acolytes, the X-men and even the alien race known as the Shi'ar. He was there when Anthony Stark apparently turned homicidal, and killed civilians (whilst being controlled by Justin Hammer. And in between, he ruled his kingdom. During the time that the Avengers had disbanded, T'Challa divided his time between his duties as a monarch - and assisting SHIELD on the occasional assignment. He did not formally join the Government Avengers or the Underground Avengers during this time, however, he was accepted into the ranks of the 'social elite' - the Illuminati (partly due to his lack of involvement with the Avengers after their disbandment), and also began seeing more of the X-Man, Storm. In 2013, it became clear to T'Challa that powerful forces were at work in the world - to cause some catastrophic 'dimensional shift' or 'merge' - which compelled the Avengers to assemble once again. What is more, it also appeared that some of those 'forces' were based somewhere in Wakanda - on T'Challa's home soil. On his watch. He took it upon himself to investigate. What he discovered unnerved him greatly. Vast stores of stolen Vibranium were being put to use under the direction and control of several of T'Challa's enemies (including his adopted brother), to power a rift in space and time that would allow his Earth to merge with another. Even the Goddess, Bast, spoke to the Black Panther of the threat, prompting him to seek solutions beyond merely the scientific. It would not be enough to just take back control of the Vibranium. T'Challa crossed over - to the other Earth. Teaming up with Justice League and Stormwatch, he was able to lend his scientific mind - and his spiritual connection to the Bast - and help prevent The Merge from fully occurring. In addition, he found he got along particularly well with Batman, and the two 'Heroes in Black' parted ways with great respect, one for the other. The next year was spent on damage control. In order to prevent the misuse of his own technology, T'Challa had been forced to destroy significant stockpiles of Vibranium - which dealt a significant blow to the Wakandan economy (but not enough to do any lasting serious damage). Waypoints - or "bridges" - between the two Earths were identified (and fortified) in Wakanda and other African nations. One such waypoint appeared in Necropolis, the ancestral home of all Black Panthers. T'Challa also discovered that Vibranium could be used to help further stabilise any existing bridge between the worlds, and so he ordered his people to redouble their efforts to replenish their ruined stocks of the precious mineral. In the meantime, T'Challa served the world both as ruler and protector - within and without his country's borders. After all, who else would answer the call of desperate men in their time of need, if not an Avenger? Personality T'Challa is a man of few words. He speaks only when he has to, and he endeavours to make every word count - to understand him as a conversationalist, is to understand him as a combatant as well. His role as king of Wakanda, and his role as one of the Avengers (and as a man of science), have led him to adapt his priorities, values and perceptions to accommodate each facet of his existence. He is proud, without being garish (he has his own certain flamboyancy). He is quiet, without being distant (in his own mind at least. He is as 'present' as he needs to be). He is just, without being vengeful (although not all the time). He is kind, without being weak (his enemies might say different). He is driven, without being obsessive (again, not all the time). In truth, his strengths can just as easily become his weaknesses. Regardless of his other qualities, T'Challa ever strives to be more than he is, and encourages others to do the same. He is a 'man of science' who must also be a 'man of culture' - and while he would be reluctant to admit it, he is a man of deep spirit, as life has taught him that sometimes he must set the 'Scientist' aside in order to learn other truths the universe might teach him. Logs Category:Earth-24800 Character Category:Marvel Features Category:Altered Humans Category:Wealthy Category:Genius Level Intellect Category:Avengers Category:Major Characters Category:Patron Category:Super Scientist Category:Regular Characters Category:Taken Characters